Moony's Match
by Artsyanonymous
Summary: The Order of the Phoenix has definitely brought Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks closer together, but their relationship has evolved into something deeper than they ever anticipated. Follow the pair through their adventures in the Order as friendship becomes something more and the stakes grow higher, both in their personal lives and in the Wizarding World (based on books 5/6).
1. Chapter 1

It was almost a quarter past midnight when a disgruntled Tonks apparated onto the step immediately outside the doorway to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. Not expecting anyone aside from Sirius to be present at Order Headquarters this time of night, she finally allowed her guard to drop as she stepped across the threshold of her cousin's childhood home. Sure that her entrance had gone unnoticed to potential onlookers both within and outside of the house, Tonks wearily slumped against the heavy, wooden door. The exhaustion and disappointment from the night's events had caught up to her at last. She had just returned from yet another long day of work at the Ministry; in addition to her regular responsibilities as an Auror, which were demanding enough, Tonks had to contend with the challenge of collecting useful information for the Order of the Phoenix without attracting attention to herself. This wasn't exactly an easy or thrilling task, especially for someone so energetic and eager to make a difference.

Apparently, Tonks let her guard down too soon, because as she advanced into the parlor and headed toward the kitchen, she felt her shin collide with something solid. Startled, she looked down to see that blasted umbrella stand come crashing onto the hardwood floor with a great echo. Cringing at the stab of pain the impact had caused to jolt up her leg as well as the prospect of disturbing Sirius with the noise, Tonks hastily tried to set the umbrella stand upright once again. However, she had barely crouched down to do so when a man whirled around the corner and pointed his wand menacingly against her chest.

"What do you think you're doing here? Show yourself!"

Tonks recognized the shabby robes and young yet weathered face at once. "Remus! It's me, Tonks! Don't jinx me, I'm sorry to bother you, I only expected Sirius to be home at this hour!" Tonks quickly whipped off her traveler's cloak, exposing her cropped, bubblegum pink hair. Lupin, however, wasn't entirely convinced, and although he slightly relaxed his hold on the wand jabbing her, he didn't drop it completely.

"If you really are Nymphadora, you won't mind-"

"Oh for the last time, I hate that name! Please, call me Tonks. Just. Tonks." She sounded exasperated, although her ire was not entirely directed at Lupin. On the contrary, seeing her friend again after so many weeks had quite bolstered Tonks' spirits.

Lupin, satisfied that only the real Tonks would correct him if he tried to use her full name, let the rest of his interrogation die on his tongue and smiled at her sheepishly instead. "Forgive me Tonks, I've had a long night myself, and I had to be sure that I wasn't about to receive another nasty surprise in the form of an intruder." he said softly.

"Don't mention it." She said brightly. "Say, you wouldn't happen to fancy a glass of fire whiskey at this hour would you?" Although Lupin wasn't particularly in the mood for a drink, he eagerly consented so that he could have an excuse to spend more time with the sprightly young witch. He followed Tonks into the kitchen, where he poured two glasses of the finest fire whiskey he could find. Giving Tonks her glass, Lupin made a mental note to restore Sirius' stash before his friend noticed that anything was amiss.

"Thanks, Remus!" Tonks drained her glass in one swig, unfazed by the sting of the liquor. Lupin, who admittedly preferred to sip his drink, couldn't help but be sort of impressed. Taking advantage of the fact that she now held his full attention, Tonks began to vent her frustration at the day's events. Somehow, Lupin always knew just what to say to lift her spirits and put things back into perspective.

"Oh Remus, I've had the longest day. Mad-eye has sent me on a fool's errand, it seems. I understand that I'm still young, but I do have some experience under my belt. I mean, I was part of the Advance Guard that escorted Harry to school at the start of the year. That's something!" she exclaimed, clearly distraught that the Order hadn't entrusted her with another task as important as escorting Harry Potter to start his fifth year at Hogwarts.

"He's just trying to protect you, Tonks. He's pretty fond of you, even if it's against Mad-Eye's common practice to pick favorites among his protégés." Lupin replied kindly. Despite her best efforts to hide her delight at Lupin's praise, Tonks could feel her cheeks burning traitorously.

"I understand that he can't confide in me as he usually does, not since that new bloke Scrimgeour is hell-bent on tracking my every move at the Ministry. I think Scrimgeour is suspicious of my association with Mad-Eye, but he doesn't have any proof that the Order has reassembled." Tonks explained. "Although, that doesn't stop him from grilling me about Mad-Eye's whereabouts any chance he gets." She added, clearly irritated. She dropped her gaze, not trusting herself to meet Lupin's warm green eyes. "I just hate that no one seems to take me seriously as an Auror recently."

"Nymphadora, look at me." Taken aback by the tenderness of his tone, Tonks didn't even bother to reprimand Lupin for his use of her full name. "No one in their right mind would ever doubt your abilities as an Auror. You were one of the last ones to be accepted into the force, and as the trainee of the famous Alastor Moody, no less! Believe me, the job he's given you- to essentially spy on the Ministry without giving away your own position- well, that's not something he would entrust to just anyone."

"Thank you, Remus. That means a lot." Tonks hardly dared say any more lest she give away just how much his words had impacted her. Deep down, she had already known that she had the makings of a great Auror; still, it certainly didn't hurt to hear that her talent hadn't gone unnoticed, especially since she didn't feel like it was being put to the best use at the moment.

Almost as if reading her thoughts, Lupin added: "Just because you can't see the impact of the work you're doing right away doesn't make it any less valuable. Take it from someone who's been doing the Order's bidding in not one, but two wizarding wars now." Lupin owned this fact with a grim kind of pride, although he hated to highlight the age gap between himself and Tonks. If he could only ignore that one little caveat, in addition to the various other obstacles he would face if he allowed himself indulge the possibility that there could be something more than friendship between himself and Nymphadora…


	2. Chapter 2

"Nymphadora Tonks?" Tonks followed the source of the deep, rich voice, to see that Kingsley Shacklebolt was beckoning her over to where he stood by the elevator. She could hardly take two steps around the Ministry without being stopped for some silly reason or another nowadays.

"Wotcher Kingsley, it's nice to see you-" Tonks' genial greeting was cut off as Kingsley abruptly herded her toward the elevator, pressing a stern hand against the small of her back as he shuffled into the vacant shaft behind her.

"Sorry Tonks," he said in a low voice upon seeing that the elevator doors had closed and they were completely alone. "We don't have much time to talk, but I need to see you in my office as soon as the elevator stops. Remember, no one can catch onto the fact that we associate outside of work, so you mustn't appear too familiar with me." Although he wasn't explicitly scolding her, Tonks caught onto Kingley's gentle reprimand about the carelessness of her friendliness toward him earlier, and she made a mental note to be more cautious in the future. "You're going to get off now," he whispered, when they were two floors above the Ministry department where Kingsley's office was located. "Come to my office in about five minutes so the other workers don't see us walking together, and knock before you come in. If anybody asks where you're headed, tell them that you've been summoned to my office for disciplinary purposes." Tonks nodded to indicate her understanding but said nothing as she stepped out of the lift.

Although she was sure she wasn't actually in trouble, the idea of telling everyone that she was facing disciplinary action greatly unsettled Tonks. She was already afraid of being perceived as incompetent by her older, more experienced peers in the Ministry, and the prospect of a disciplinary hearing certainly wouldn't do anything to bolster her reputation. Even if Tonks knew that it wasn't legitimate, everybody around her would take it seriously and she wouldn't be in a position to defend herself. Lost in her anxiety-riddled thoughts, Tonks hardly realized that more than five minutes had passed and it was safe to meet Kingsley now. Luckily, she didn't face any nosy inquiries from the other workers as she arrived at the door to his office and softly rapped on it.

"Come in, Nymphadora," called the booming voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt from within. Tonks slid into the room as unobtrusively as she could manage, but dropped all pretense of seriousness as soon as she was certain the door had been sealed shut again. "Goodness Kingsley! You had me genuinely concerned for a hot minute there! A disciplinary hearing, now that's a good one. I think I'm gonna use that whenever some nosy Ministry bloke tries to question where I'm off to for the millionth time. I doubt anyone would have a hard time believing that I've off and gotten myself into some sort of trouble." Tonks said good-naturedly.

"Actually Tonks…" he started awkwardly. "That part was true. The Ministry has opened an inquiry regarding your current status as an Auror." Seeing her disbelieving, crestfallen expression, he quickly added: "They have absolutely no ground to stand on, of course. This is simply another attempt to try and force our hand at revealing information about the Order of the Phoenix."

"But… I don't understand. I've been so careful!"

"This doesn't reflect on anything you've done or neglected to do, Tonks. The Ministry has been looking for an excuse to use some-" Kingsley cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable "-well, some rather underhanded means to try and obtain insight as to the whereabouts and intentions of the Order. While Ministry officials have no concrete proof that the Order has reassembled, they have caught wind of our efforts to resist their denial of You-Know-Who's reemergence. Unfortunately, due to your youth and your role in escorting Harry Potter to school earlier this year, you've become a convenient scapegoat."

Although she was reeling on the inside, Tonks managed to maintain her composure as she asked the obvious question: "But what could they possibly be charging me on?"

"Colluding with Harry Potter and aiding and abetting in the spread of _lies_ ," Kingsley stressed the word with distaste, clearly angry, "about the return of Lord Voldemort."

"Ok, we can work with that," replied Tonks optimistically. "Mad-Eye hasn't divulged any top-secret Order information to me in weeks. It was almost as if he knew something like this was bound to happen," she said, clearly impressed with her mentor's foresight. "I mean, even if the Ministry wanted me to talk, I wouldn't have anything juicy to tell them. The only job I've been doing for the Order lately is carrying out my regular Auror duties and reporting anytime I encounter suspicious activity against Muggles on the job or unusually strong anti-Dumbledore sentiment within the Ministry itself."

"Unfortunately, that is enough to give us away," stated Kingsley. "In these uncertain times, the Ministry has taken to using rather devious methods to obtain information from accused persons. Although the Wizengamot has historically discouraged the use of powerful magical tools such as Veritaserum and Legillemency during noncriminal trials, the new Ministry authorities have permitted them to be reinstated. We believe that they will force you to drink Truth Serum during your hearing tomorrow and take the opportunity to question you about the Order's whereabouts. In that case, you would have no control over what information you chose to reveal. Even though Mad-Eye hasn't shared specific aspects of Order business with you recently, you still know where headquarters are located, and that would be enough to undo our entire operation. Not to mention, it could send Sirius Black back to Azkaban," he added as an afterthought.

Tonks looked horrified, but gracefully accepted her reality and immediately began considering ways to resist the Ministry. "Well…" she began uncertainly, "I suppose the trial is unavoidable, but maybe the judge of my case would be willing to work with us, depending on who it is. If we could find someone who's sympathetic to the Order's cause, perhaps we could convince them to use fake Veritaserum, and I could just act my way through the questioning."

"That's what we had in mind, but we've decided that it would be too risky to find someone on the outside to judge your case fairly. I've already talked to Remus Lupin, and he's agreed to use Polyjuice potion to disguise himself as Pius Thicknesse, who is active in the department of Magical Law Enforcement and a convincing choice for the judge assigned to your hearing."

Upon hearing that she would get to work with Remus, Tonks swelled with excitement. She took a second to check her composure before she trusted herself to respond, and then replied that the plan sounded solid and she would be happy to do her part.

"Excellent. You can meet Remus at headquarters right after work, and you two can go over the plan together."

"Sounds good!" Replied Tonks brightly. "I except I'll be seeing you later tonight? I know Molly's making dinner. Meatballs," she added with relish.

"I'll be there," said Kingsley warmly. "Have a good one, Tonks."

"You, too." Tonks took the cue that her business with Kingsley had definitively concluded and left the room swiftly. She was trying, and ultimately failing, to mask the giddy grin that kept threatening to rise to the surface and break out across her features whenever she considered the prospect of working with Lupin later that day. She didn't reckon that she should be smiling after she was just informed that she would be facing a disciplinary hearing.

The rest of Tonks' day passed in a blur; she spent the better part of the morning filing paperwork, which she absolutely detested. The only action she saw all day occurred when the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office finally managed to identify the wizard who was bewitching Muggle mailboxes to snap shut on their fingers, and Tonks was dispatched to apprehend the culprit. Before she knew it, five o'clock had rolled around and Tonks was apparating to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place.

As was her routine, Tonks appeared on the step immediately outside the door of Order headquarters and collected herself before entering the decrepit house. Her first impulse was to visit the kitchen and see if her cousin had prepared anything that she could steal a bite of before dinner, but she didn't get very far before she heard the loud crash and felt the sharp pain which indicated that she had, once again, ran into that bloody umbrella stand. In response to the noise, she heard a yell.

"Tonks? Back from work already?" She immediately recognized that the pleasant, mild voice belonged to none other than Remus Lupin, and at once, she regretted that the cacophony of the umbrella stand falling was now synonymous with her arrival.

"Hi, Remus, it's me!" She called in reply, clumsily fumbling with the umbrella stand as she tried to set it upright again. Anticipating the routine interrogation that every Order member received from Lupin upon entering headquarters, Tonks promptly began to recite information about herself that no imposter would know: "It is I, Tonks-just-Tonks-who-has-no-first-name-worth-speaking-of. Auror, alumni of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hufflepuff House (and proud of it), renowned Metamorphagus, extreme klutz, super fan of the Weird Sisters… must I go on?" She asked Remus imploringly, her tone lightly mocking, though not unkind.

"No, that would be sufficient, Tonks. I didn't even consider the possibility that you could be an imposter. Only my Tonks is clumsy enough to knock over that umbrella stand every time she enters the house. It's become your signature, really." He said easily, his eyes twinkling. Tonks blushed furiously, though not totally from embarrassment. The phrase 'my Tonks'echoed in her head for moments after the encounter, pounding out any other thought and making it nearly impossible for her to focus on the task at hand. It was a good thing that Lupin took the lead in going over the plan for the next day.

"So," he began, when they were both seated at the kitchen table, "I'm going to arrive at the Ministry about half an hour before you're schedule to start your shift. The trial is at ten o'clock, so I'll be hiding out in Arthur Weasley's office until then. He has set up a meeting with Thicknesse under the pretense of discussing how the Magical Law Enforcement department can strengthen their position on discouraging crimes against Muggles, which honestly, isn't such a bad idea." Tonks nodded her agreement. She, too, was sick of being called out to apprehend wizards who thought that playing cruel tricks on innocent Muggles was a fun pastime.

"Arthur will use the pretense of the meeting to get Thicknesse alone long enough to serve him tea infused with a sleeping draught. Once he's passed out, Arthur will get a sample of Thicknesses' hair for me, and I'll add it to Polyjuice potion and disguise myself as him before the trial. Once I'm in the courtroom, I'll be expected to supply the Veritaserum, but I'll switch it with a fake before it's given to you. All you have to do is appear to answer the questions I ask honestly, but deny that you have any association with the Order of the Phoenix."

"Easy enough," said Tonks, trying to sound confident, although she had her doubts. The plan seemed solid enough, but she knew there were many opportunities for things to go wrong as well. "I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to change my hair for the occasion," she thought aloud, to no one in particular. "I'd hate to deviate from my signature pink, but I'm afraid they won't take me as seriously." Turning to Lupin, Tonks scrunched up her face in concentration, and her hair suddenly grew to her waist, the color morphing from its bright, bubblegum pink hue to a deep, sultry shade of red. "What do we think?" Without waiting for Lupin's response, Tonks rushed to examine herself in the hall mirror.

Unsatisfied with the red, she switched to blond, but immediately blanched at her reflection. "I can't understand why Muggle girls are so obsessed with coloring their hair blond. I think it makes me even paler and washed out than usual." Clearly out of his comfort zone and at a loss of what to say, Lupin was silent in the next room. Unhappy with the blond color, Tonks' next choice was the complete opposite of her current look- a cropped jet black style. She hardly considered her reflection for more than a couple of seconds before declaring the look "harsh and ugly."

"I don't think there's anything you could do to make yourself ugly." Lupin spoke so softly that Tonks wondered if he had meant for her to overhear him. However, when she poked her head back into the kitchen, having settled on a nice, unassuming brunette hairstyle, there was a shy smile playing on Remus' lips.

"Challenge accepted," Tonks declared brazenly, determined to make Remus eat his words. Or perhaps she was simply afraid of how warm and giddy the compliment had made her feel, and she aimed to deflect these dangerous sentiments with humor. After all, she couldn't afford to get distracted by a silly crush on the job. Changing her nose into a pig snout, as she often did for Hermione and Ginny's entertainment, Tonks turned and faced Lupin once more.

"How do you like me now?" She flipped her hair and wagged her eyebrows in a suggestive fashion. "You know, on second thought. You don't even need to answer. I must be more appealing to you now than ever, given your _wolfish_ nature." For a moment, Tonks was afraid that her joke had crossed a line, but instead of looking offended, Lupin burst into a genuine, gut-wrenching laugh. Tonks didn't know it yet, but her affectionate teasing had reminded him of how James and Sirius used help him make light of his situation with humor. He fondly remembered how when his facial hair started coming in during sixth year, Sirius had laughed and joked that his fur was finally growing. He recognized that none of his friends' jokes were ever mean-spirited, and they only took the cue that it was ok, because Remus liked to laugh at himself. Somehow, their joking with him about his differences had made his condition less painful.

At the end of the night, when all of the Order members had feasted on Molly's famous meatballs and were going their separate ways, Lupin was sure to pull Tonks aside and bid her goodnight. They briefly went over their plan for tomorrow's mission one last time, and Tonks had just set one foot out the door when Lupin's gentle voice called her attention back into the house.

"I just wanted to say thank you," he started, bashfully, "you know, for giving me the chance to be a part of your plans."

"Thank me?" Tonks was taken aback. "Remus, it's an honor to work with you anytime I get the chance."

"You're too kind, Dora," he responded, not quite meeting her eyes. "It hasn't been easy for me, sitting around here, waiting for duty to call. I really miss having a steady job and feeling like I'm contributing. Any opportunity to get out in the field and do something for the Order is a welcome one for me."

With a jolt, Tonks recalled the anti-werewolf legislation that had recently been passed by that wicked woman, Dolores Umbridge. She felt a sudden rush of hatred toward her and the Ministry at large. Taking in Lupin's shabbier-than-usual appearance, she had the realization that he had been out of work for some time now and was essentially a volunteer for the Order. Her respect for him increased tenfold; he wasn't working for the Order for money- he was simply doing it because it was right.

Lost in a rare moment of self-pity, Lupin continued to fret. "I guess I can't blame anyone for my difficulties with employment. After all, no one wants to hire a monster to teach their children."

"You know," Tonks said vehemently "sometimes I worry that if you talk about yourself like that too much, you'll start to believe it."

And before he could respond, she had taken off into the cold, misty night.


End file.
